wrench question - install skinny tire on mt bike rim - not seating correctly

[eddief]

building up grocery getter based on 15 yr old cannondale mt bike with 26 inch wheels.

when i switched out the honking knobbies with 26x1.0 ritchey tom slick folding tires, i can't get the tires to seat symetrically around 100% of the rim. about 85% seats just fine, but a couple of 5 inch sections just won't jump up into the rim edge. you can look around the circumference of the brake track and see the tire irregularities.

i am using 26x1.25 or 26x1.5 presta valve tubes with schraeder to presta rim adapters.

i have tried to inflate many times. tried to use my fingers to pull the tire up as i pump. no way, jose.

1. should i use a bigger tube?
2. could the tire be faulty?
3. tire too skinny for these wider mt bike rims?

or i just thought...would soaping the tire bead before pumping result it in smoothly jumping up into the rim?

[Ken Robb]

I think some mtn. bike rims are too wide for 1" tires. Maybe LOTS of talcum powder will help? I had a tough time putting 1.25 tires on my Mavic mtn. rims

[eddief]

around the entire bead, still had to pump it up carefully a few more times, but finally got it to seat correctly all the way around. what a f-ing hassle. maybe wire beads would work better in this application.

[oldpotatoe]

building up grocery getter based on 15 yr old cannondale mt bike with 26 inch wheels.

when i switched out the honking knobbies with 26x1.0 ritchey tom slick folding tires, i can't get the tires to seat symetrically around 100% of the rim. about 85% seats just fine, but a couple of 5 inch sections just won't jump up into the rim edge. you can look around the circumference of the brake track and see the tire irregularities.

i am using 26x1.25 or 26x1.5 presta valve tubes with schraeder to presta rim adapters.

i have tried to inflate many times. tried to use my fingers to pull the tire up as i pump. no way, jose.

1. should i use a bigger tube?
2. could the tire be faulty?
3. tire too skinny for these wider mt bike rims?

or i just thought...would soaping the tire bead before pumping result it in smoothly jumping up into the rim?

Wide rim plus skinny tire means when trying to get from rim edge to rim edge(seated) it's just too narrow. You can try wetting the bead, then a bunch of air but it may be too narrow.

[eddief]

http://www.parktool.com/product/tire-seater-pts-1

[RPS]

I think some mtn. bike rims are too wide for 1" tires. Maybe LOTS of talcum powder will help? I had a tough time putting 1.25 tires on my Mavic mtn. rims
I used Continental 26X1 inch on 24-mm-wide Velocity Deep Vs for years and had no problems at all. I'm now using 26X1.25 but would not hesitate going back to 1-inch tires due to mounting concerns.

[RPS]

http://www.parktool.com/product/tire-seater-pts-1
Cool. Another use for old Channel Locks. ;)

[radsmd]

Max tire pressures to seat the bead and talcum powder has worked well for me.

[eddief]

This has come up before so I'll tell you again what I used to do with
reluctant-to-seat tires on my road racing motorcycles. I used a
professional tire-mounting lubricant. (I got mine from a friend who
worked in an automobile tire shop, but you can get it from any racing
supply dealer.) I've only had this problem maybe a couple of times in
the last 5 years and now I use Dawn dishwashing detergent. Anyway,
when you get to the point when you have just a few inches on bead
that won't seat, pump up the tire to at least 100 pounds, place the
wheel on the floor with the unseated section up and smack the center
of the tire with a 5-pound dead-blow hammer. (Wear safety glasses
because when the bead pops in, it tends to spray the lubricant.)
Still works for me, but...